Tears

Laura Miller 16

Courtney	Sconce	12	Courtney Sconce disappeared from her Rancho Cordova neighborhood sometime after 3 p.m. Nov. 8, 2000. Her body was found about two hours later on the banks of the Feather River near Nicolaus in Sutter County. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Weinberger pleaded guilty in November to charges of murder with three special circumstances - child molestation, kidnapping and rape - on the condition he would not receive the death penalty. Despite the condition attached to his plea bargain, less than an hour before Marlette sentenced him, Weinberger asked the court to give him the death penalty.


Heidi	Seeman	11	On August 4, 1990, Heidi Seeman, the eleven year old daughter of an Air Force Sergeant, was abducted from her neighborhood in Northeast San Antonio, Texas.On August 23, 1990, the searchers were asked to search for another little girl, seven year old Erica Botello, who had been abducted near her home in southwest San Antonio. On August 25th, the searches ended tragically when both girls were found murdered. Heidi's body was on a ranch 60 miles north of San Antonio and Erica's was found near her home. According to the FBI, this search may have been the largest and most expensive search in the nation's history. For 21 days, 8,000 people searched daily and over 300,000 searched on "Find Heidi Day". As a result of this search, the Heidi Search Center was created by volunteers who vowed to help prevent similar tragedies from ever happening again.

Erica	Botello	7



Laura	Smither	12	On April 3, 1997, 12-year-old Laura Smither went for a jog near her home in Friendswood, south of Houston. She never returned. Frantic searches mounted by thousands of volunteers, as well as state and federal officials, including U.S. Marine reservists, turned up nothing for 17 days. When Smither's body was found in a Pasadena retention pond, investigators noted some obvious similarities between her abduction and death and that of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington three months earlier. Both girls' bodies were dumped in waterways,nude except for their socks. Amber's nude body was found on Wednesday 1-17-96 in a drainage ditch located in the Forest Ridge Apartments which are located on Green Oaks Blvd., a short distance west of Highway 360 in Arlington,Texas. Amber had been sexually assaulted and her throat had been cut multiple times with a knife. The similarities prompted a meeting between Arlington and Friendswood investigators, but after a few days, Arlington homicide Sgt. Mark Simpson returned home saying while the officers had found similarities in the cases, "short of having someone in custody and asking questions about him, knowing if the two cases are related cannot be conclusively determined." In October 1997, Friendswood Police Chief Jared Stout stunned the media and other area police by naming paroled sex offender William Lewis Reece as the prime suspect in Smither's death. Many more details at the link...

Dana	Sanchez	16
Diana	Rebollar	9

Zachary	Snider	10	Cloverdale, IN -- Christopher Stevens was convicted of child molesting in Marion County in February 1993, and received a 4-year-sentence with 3 years suspended and probated. His probation was transferred to Cloverdale, where he returned to live with his father. Apparently, none of his new neighbors were aware of his criminal past. Zachary Snider, age 10, lived in the same subdivision and was often seen in the company of the 20-year-old Stevens. Stevens attended and videotaped one of Zachary's little league baseball games. Zachary's father eventually warned Stevens to stay away from his son when he learned that Stevens had taken the boy fishing. A month later, on July 15, 1993, Zachary turned up missing. He was last seen at a young friend's home, who was told by Zachary that he was going to Stevens' home. In the midst of a massive local search for Zachary, Stevens' brother reported to police that Stevens had confessed to him that he murdered Zachary. He then directed police to a remote location near a bridge, where Zachary's body and bicycle were recovered. Stevens was arrested and gave a complete confession. He claimed that he had been having sex with Zachary for 2 or 3 months. When Zachary came over to his house, they performed oral sex in Stevens' room. Zachary threatened to tell his parents about having sex and Stevens decided he did not want to go through what he went through in Marion County. Stevens smothered Zachary with a pillow, then strangled him with an electrical cord around his neck. When Zachary continued to gasp, Stevens got a plastic garbage bag and wrapped it over his head. He then put Zachary and his bicycle in the car, drove to a bridge in a remote area, and threw them both over. He returned the next morning, fearing that police would connect him to the trash bag, removed it from Zachary's head, and threw it out along the highway on the way home. A similar bag was recovered by police in the area described by Stevens. Stevens later admitted to psychologists that he had molested 25-30 children, and had ejaculated on Zachary when he killed him. The psychologists concluded that he was a benign pedophile and was a serious danger to society. On March 14, 1995, Stevens was sentenced to death. (This case later resulted in Zachary's Law, IC 5-2-12, establishing Sex Offender Registry which requires police to keep a registry of convicted child molestors.)


Angelica	Sequen	9	On February 4th, 2001, nine year old Angelica María Chitay Sequen was playing at her poverty stricken home in the rural aldea (county) of Zet in the Guatemalan highlands when her mother left to do an errand. Seeing the mother leave, Maximiliano Alfaro Pirir, their neighbor, entered the little girl's house and grabbed Angelica, dragging her by the hair to the nearby deserted river bank. He viciously raped the little girl and then strangled her. Unsatisfied with merely killing the girl, Pirir then dragged the body to a nearby clearing where he started to crush her skull with a rock. ***Follow Hyperlink to complete story for even more appalling details...


Krystal	Steadman	9	On March 19, 2000 Krystal was kidnapped, brutally raped and murdered ,and her body dumped alongside the road. On March 20, 2000 her body was found on US Hwy 50two miles west of Highway 255 over an embankment.


Tonnie	Storey	15	OHIO- At the time of Alton Coleman's execution, there were approximately 3,700 convicted murderers on death row in the United States. Coleman was the only one with death sentences from 3 different states: Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. These sentences were the culmination of a 1984 midwestern crime spee by Coleman and accomplice Deborah Brown that included up to 8 murders, 7 rapes, 3 kidnappings, and 14 armed robberies. Juanita Wheat, the mother of 9-year-old Vernita Wheat of Kenosha, Wis., said the execution brings a sense of relief. Coleman received a death sentence in Illinois for strangling Vernita, his first victim, and dumping her body in his hometown of Waukegon, Ill., in May 1984. On July 11, 1984, 15 year old Tonnie Storey left her home in Cincinnati to attend a computer class at a junior high school. Eight days later, her bound and partially decomposed body was discovered in an abandoned building. The cause of death was strangulation. A classmate testified and identified Coleman in the company of a woman talking to the victim on July 11th, when she was last seen alive. A fingerprint from the scene also matched Coleman's. Both Coleman and Brown received death sentences. On appeal, Coleman's death sentence was set aside due to ineffective counsel. Brown's death sentence was commuted in 1991 by Ohio Governor Celeste as he was leaving office.
Vernita	Wheat	9
Tamika	Turks	7	INDIANA- 7 year old Tamika and her 9 year old niece, Annie, were walking back from the candy store to their home when they were confronted by Debra Denise Brown and Coleman. Brown and Coleman convinced them to walk into the woods to play a game. Once there, they removed Tamika's shirt and tore it into small strips which they used to bind and gag the children. When Tamika began to cry, Brown held her nose and mouth while Coleman stomped on her chest. After carrying Tamika a short distance away, Annie was forced to perform oral sex on both Brown and Coleman, then Coleman raped her. Brown and Coleman then choked her until she was unconscious. When she awoke, they were gone. Tamika was found dead in the bushes nearby, strangled with an elastic strip of bedsheet. The same fabric was later found in the apartment shared by Coleman and Brown. Annie received cuts so deep that her intestines were protruding into her vagina. Evidence of a remarkably similar murder in Ohio was admitted at trial. Coleman also received the death penalty for stomping and strangling 7-year-old Tamika Turks of Gary, Ind.
Annie	Turks	9

Nathaniel	Upshaw	5	CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In the wake of his death, the hell that 5-year-old Nathaniel Upshaw endured seems so obvious, so hard to ignore. A black eye observed by a neighbor. Screaming and slamming against walls inside his family's duplex in a poor neighborhood. A call to police reporting abuse of Nathaniel's older brother by the man now charged with raping and murdering the kindergartner. But for Nathaniel, the signs came too late. Few recognized them - or at least paid much attention - until the sirens and flashing lights invaded Wilson Street on Tuesday.By then, the boy, tortured and beaten into a coma two days after he was held under water and nearly drowned, was too far gone. He died Wednesday when he was taken off life support after doctors determined his brain no longer worked. He suffered severe brain and organ damage from the beating. His mother's live-in boyfriend, Nicholas Hilt, 23, confessed to torturing the boy. He remains jailed on a $2.5 million bond, charged with murder, rape, child abuse and attempted murder. His mother, Altreasa Upshaw, 29, is charged with filing a false police report, child neglect and accessory to child abuse. Her bond was set at $1.2 million.


Danielle	Van Dam	8	The autopsy made the identification Thursday through a comparison of the missing girl's dental records and X-rays taken from the body, San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst said. The cause of death could not immediately be determined — and may never be — because of the body's state of decomposition, he said. A neighbor, David Westerfield, 50, was charged Tuesday with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. He has pleaded innocent and is being held without bond.


Morgan	Violi	7	Morgan was abducted by a male stranger in the parking lot of the Colony Apts,Bowling Green, Kentucky, on July 24,1996 around 12:30 pm. The abduction occurred almost directly in front of her family's apartment. The suspect was driving a maroon colored 1978 Chevy Van that was believed to have been stolen out of Dayton, Ohio on July 23rd, 1996. This case is still unsolved. ***Follow Hyperlink to complete story for even more appalling details...


Jenny Lynn	Weeks	14	On September 9, 1993, the body of 14 year old Jenny Lynn Weeks was discovered in the closet of an abandoned home in Clarksville, Texas. She had been bitten, raped, beaten, and strangled to death. Four days earlier, she had earlier run away from a group foster home, and was befriended by Reeves. A search of Reeves' home revealed a purse containing the diary of Weeks. Saliva, blood, pubic hair, head hair, and teeth impressions on the body and clothing of Weeks were consistent with Reeves, who bragged to friends that he had beaten and killed a 14 year old.


Edward	Werner	11	Sam Manzie, the 15-year-old murder suspect, apparently met 43-year-old StephenSimmons in an America Online chat room sometime last year. According to the New York Times, the two met for at least four sexual encounters between August and December of 1996. The Monmouth County Prosecutor, John Kaye, told the Times it did not appear from the statements taken that Simmons forced the youth to have sex. But he said the acts were criminal given that Manzie was only 14 at the time. Manzie's parents learned of the relationship five weeks ago and entered their son into counseling. Days later, prosecutors had convinced the teenager to assist in the investigation against Simmons. Something snapped in Manzie on Sept. 23. The electronic equipment that had been installed to monitor the teen's relationship with Simmons was destroyed by Manzie in a violent rage. He swore off further cooperation with police and refused hospitalization or further contact with his therapist. Three days later, 11-year-old Edward Werner rang the doorbell of Manzie's home selling candy for a P.T.A. fundraiser. Police say the boy was taken into the suspect's home and strangled after being sexually attacked, his body later dumped not far from the suspect's home. It is unclear at this point whether Manzie will be tried as an adult or juvenile. If convicted as an adult, he could face 30 years to life in prison.


Kristin	Wiley	10	On the afternoon of July 20, 1992, 14-year-old Jeremy Garza found the bloody bodies of his 10-year-old sister, Kristin Wiley, and her 7-year-old best friend, Kynara Carriero, in his bedroom. Both girls were naked from the waist down and had been stabbed about 20 times. Autopsies revealed that both girls died of stab wounds to the neck and head. Though they also suffered vaginal trauma, no semen was found. Mays, who lived next door, had been fired from his job earlier that same day. After months of talking with investigators, Mays finally agreed to take a polygraph examination. When told that he had failed the test, Mays confessed to the murders. Mays said he left his workplace on July 20, 1992, at about 2:45 p.m., feeling upset about losing his job and concerned about how he would convey the news to his wife. Though he drove home, he parked his car a few houses down the street from his own residence and walked to his neighbor's house. Upon hearing loud music from within the home, Mays pushed open the unlocked front door and called for Kristin Wiley. As he walked through the house, he saw Kristin and Kynara running away from him. Mays followed them and asked them to lower the volume on the stereo. Kynara answered, "No, we're not going to turn it down! Just get out of the house!" Then, Mays began stabbing both girls with a knife he took from the kitchen. During the investigation, Mays sometimes performed as Uh-Oh the Clown.
Kynara	Carriero	7


Justin	Wiles	12	Garrison is accused in the decade-old slaying and dismemberment death of 13-year-old Justin Wiles. The teen's body was found in Bixhoma lake four days after last being seen getting into Garrison's car. Garrison served a two-year sentence for drugging and abducting a child. Upon his release, he was immediately arrested for the Wiles' death. As a juvenile, Garrison admitted to killing two children. His 4-year-old cousin was found strangled under a house. As a result, he was committed to a mental hospital in 1972. Two years later while Garrison was on leave from the hospital, he killed 3-year-old Craig Neal. The toddler's body was found under Garrison's mother's home. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter and spent four years in prison.


Christina	Williams	14
			They questioned convicted child molesters who lived in the area, including Charles Holifield, who was arrested for trying to abduct a woman at gunpoint in Marina just three months after Williams was kidnapped. In 1980, Holifield was convicted of the attempted kidnapping of an 18-year-old woman, and in 1970 he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old Monterey girl. He's now in prison serving a sentence of 52-years-to-life The FBI would neither confirm nor deny that Holifield is their man, but they do say he fits the profile.

Cassandra	Williams	6	Johnny Johnson, 24, an ex-convict, is accused of abducting
			Cassandra, trying to rape her and killing her. VALLEY PARK, Mo., July 30, 2002

April Marie	Wilson	7	Garry Dean Miller, 33, was condemned to die for the 1988 slaying of April Marie Wilson, who was raped, choked and beaten to death. Her body was dragged through clumps of cactus, then left in a clump of brush outside Abilene. A blanket and a Raggedy Ann doll were found nearby. "I've got no mercy for this guy," Jones County District Attorney Gary Brown said. "Too bad they can't draw and quarter him. Too bad they can't put him up here on the sand and skin him for a couple of days and let him be tortured like she was."


Falyssa Van	Winkle	10	On Oct. 6, 1990, Joe and Elaine Langley were working with their 10-year-old daughter, Falyssa, at a flea market in Beaumont. Joe Langley saw James Rexford Powell, an acquaintance, at 9 a.m. for about 10 to 15 minutes. Langley also saw Powell talk to Falyssa. Around 10 a.m., Falyssa left to buy a bag of peanuts; a little while later, Powell came by and indicated he was leaving. Falyssa never returned and her body was found that afternoon under a bridge with her hands and ankles bound with rope. She had been sexually abused and died of ligature strangulation. Witnesses identified Powell's motor home on the bridge and DNA from sperm found on Falyssa's body matched Powell's DNA.


Destiny	Wright	6	08/09/02 PHILADELPHIA -- A man was charged Friday with raping and killing a 6-year-old girl who disappeared during a sleepover and was found dead the next day in woods behind nearby rowhouses. Police said they believe Abdul El-Shabazz, 18, assaulted and killed Destiny Wright in his sister's home, put her in a shopping cart and dumped her body about 1½ miles away. Police arrested him Thursday night and said he led them to her body.